Protests target Staten Island waste-to-energy plant: If you care, be there

Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel"It is clear that this administration has no understanding or appreciation of what Fresh Kills did to this community for 55 years," said City Councilman James Oddo.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Two protests aimed at telling Mayor Mike Bloomberg just what they think of the plan to site the city's first waste-to-energy plant at the former Fresh Kills landfill will be staged by Staten Islanders this month -- including an old-fashioned town hall meeting to vent and strategize.

Councilman James Oddo is leading the charge on both, but the events will be co-sponsored by the Council delegation, including Councilman Vincent Ignizio and Councilwoman Debi Rose.

On Monday, April 9, there will be a rally outside the landfill, beginning at 1 p.m. That's the day the city will bus prospective contractors to the site in hopes of getting them to agree to build an incinerator there to process Island garbage in a pilot project.

On Thursday, April 26, there will be a town hall meeting at Rocco Laurie Intermediate School, New Springville, beginning at 7 p.m. The site was chosen for its central location -- and because it is where countless community meetings were held over the years to amass public support to shut down the dump.

Here's what you need to know

• The strategy: Two events, a town hall meeting and a protest rally, are being held to demonstrate opposition to a plan to site the city's first waste-to-energy plant at the former Fresh Kills landfill.

• The demonstration: On April 9, a rally is planned outside the landfill, beginning at 1 p.m.

• Town hall meeting: On April 26. a gathering at Rocco Laurie Intermediate School, New Springville, beginning at 7 p.m.

The landfill in Travis -- once the world's largest garbage dump and so vast it could be seen from outer space -- was closed by the city in 2001 with the promise that it would never be reopened. While the Bloomberg administration has touted it as the site of the future Freshkills Park, it is now looking to utilize a portion of it to burn trash, and issued a Request for Proposals (RFD) last month specifically mentioning the site in what was supposed to be a search for an acceptable location in the five boroughs or within an 80-mile radius of the city.

"It is clear that this administration has no understanding or appreciation of what Fresh Kills did to this community for 55 years," said Oddo (R-Mid-Island). "Apparently, we need to educate these folks. We want to demonstrate political unity and solidarity with the people."

"The dump was closed with great fanfare, and why anyone thinks it is acceptable to take garbage in at Freshkills Park -- not Fresh Kills landfill -- is beyond me," said Ignizio (R-South Shore). "The landfill is a relic of a bygone era. Staten Island is going to have its voice heard."

"New York City government thinks there is a welcome mat at the landfill," said Ms. Rose (D-North Shore). "We need to let them know that we refuse to be their doormat. That they have the audacity to suggest any project to open the site when Staten Islanders could again be exposed to toxic elements cannot be tolerated. We are not the garbage pail for New York City."

Oddo said the April 9 landfill rally will be held at the front gate of the old landfill, at the Victory Boulevard exit service road off the West Shore Expressway. He said if the city takes its van of would-be contractors "in through a back entrance to try to avoid us, that will be symbolic of the back-door way they are trying to bring this about."

"That day will be to show something to two audiences," added Oddo. "To show the Bloomberg administration that we are opposed to it, and to show respondents who come for the tour that they are not welcome at Fresh Kills. We are a scrappy group, and they will hear our voices and see our signs and know that we do not want them here."

As for the April 26 town hall meeting, Oddo said, "This is not just a group therapy session. This is about delivering. We need the grassroots support of the people. All the elected officials are being invited, along with (former Borough President) Guy Molinari, who fought the battle against Fresh Kills for so long. All the prospective mayoral candidates will be invited as well, so we can see who is listening and who is not."

Oddo said with publicity generated in the Staten Island Advance and on SILive.com, Facebook and Twitter, he is hoping for a big crowd.

"This fight is really important," said Ms. Rose. "Staten Islanders from every part of the borough must be involved."

"This is a call to arms to all Staten Islanders," added Ignizio. "It is not enough anymore to sit at home and complain."

Oddo, a candidate for borough president next year, conceived of the idea of a town hall meeting with Ignizio during a recent sit-down with Molinari.

Said Molinari: "We have to create a battle team. If we stand together, we can stop this thing. People are going to have to respond and come out. If they don't, the city is going to run roughshod over us. The Manhattan gang doesn't seem aware of the horrible amount of suffering that took place when it was open. If was life-threatening for people with asthma. You couldn't have a back yard barbecue because of the smell. Staten Island is part of the city of New York. It is terribly troubling that we have to continue to remind them of that."

Meanwhile, Ignizio said he doesn't want the current crop of Staten Island youngsters to experience what he went through growing up in Eltingville during the 1980s, when the stench was so bad on a summer's night families couldn't sleep with their windows open.

"I went to bed with the smell of garbage," recalled Ignizio. "My sister and I couldn't sleep in our rooms and we only had one air conditioner in the house, in my parents' room. So at night in the summer, we would sleep in sleeping bags on the floor of their bedroom."